2.1 Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to computerized account management techniques and, more specifically, to techniques by which financial entities may offer accounts allowing unlimited withdrawals while the deposited funds earn interest at rates that can be flexibly assigned and are covered by deposit insurance.
2.2 Background Art
It would be desirable if depositors and investors could obtain FDIC insured, interest-bearing accounts with interest rates that can be flexibly assigned, with an unlimited number of fund transfers per month, and with insurances that may exceed $100,000. However, account offerings in the United States (“US”) are limited by statutes generally codified as Title 12 of the United States Code (“U.S.C.”) (Banks and Banking). These statutes and accompanying regulatory scheme limit investors and depositors seeking investments and deposits having a lower risk profile to a rather limited selection of choices, all of which suffer inhibiting constraints.
Financial entities are prevented from paying interest on certain types of deposit accounts, especially “demand deposit accounts” that permit unlimited withdrawals of deposited funds, by relevant statutes and regulations, namely Title 12 U.S.C. Chapter 3 (Federal Reserve System); Title 12 Code of Federal Regulations (“C.F.R.”) Chapter II Part 204 (12 C.F.R. §§ 204.1-204.136) (Federal Reserve Board (“FRB”) Regulation D); and Title 12 C.F.R. Chapter II Part 217 (12 C.F.R. §§ 217.1-217.101) (FRB Regulation Q).
More specifically, 12 CFR 329.2 states that “no bank shall, directly or indirectly, by any device whatsoever, pay interest on any demand deposit”. A “deposit” is any money placed into a checking account, savings account, Certificate of Deposit (CD), or the like. In a “demand” account, the owner can make an unlimited number of funds transfers to another account (having the same or a different owner), or to a third party, typically by bank drafts, checks, credit cards, and debit cards. In essence, an account in which a depositor has the ability to make at least six transfers will be deemed a demand account and no interest will be payable on the funds therein (unless the funds are held in a NOW account under 18 U.S.C. 1832(a)). Therefore, owners of demand accounts are denied interest on their funds.
Second, deposit insurance provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) is limited in various ways. The FDIC is a federal governmental entity created under Title 12 U.S.C. Chapter 3 (the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) that provides insurance for deposits in most banks and savings institutions in the United States. Bank deposits are insured by the FDIC's Bank Insurance Fund (“BIF”) and savings institutions' deposits are insured by the FDIC's Savings Association Insurance Fund (“SAIF”).
The rules governing insurance of deposits in institutions insured by the BIF and the SAIF are the same. In particular, according to 12 U.S.C. § 1821(a), the FDIC limits insurance coverage provided to the owners(s) of funds deposited in each insured institution to $100,000, and bases insurance coverage on the concept of ownership rights and capacities, that is funds held in different ownership categories are insured separately from each other; and funds owned by the same entity but held in different accounts at the same financial entity are subsumed under the same insurance coverage.
Additionally, such insured, interest-bearing, demand accounts with flexibly-assigned interest rates would be desirable not only for depositors and investors but also for financial entities such as broker/dealers, savings institutions, credit unions, and the like seeking their deposits. In more detail, broker/dealers and some other financial institutions have been able to pay interest on their deposits. However, these deposits are not backed by insurance comparable to that provided by the FDIC (a portion of cash in broker/dealer accounts may be insured by SPIC). Also, their interest-rate flexibility is strictly limited by the securities statutes. For example, under the Regulated Investment Company Act of 1940, money market mutual funds, which are often used to provide income on deposits, must pay the same rate of return to each account owner, thereby limiting an institution's ability to respond to the varying profitability of different classes of accounts.
Banks and other savings institutions have developed several approaches, which include money fund sweeps and re-purchase agreement (“repo”) sweeps, in an effort to compete with those financial institutions, principally broker/dealers, who are able to offer interest on cash balances for their commercial customers. However, these approaches are disadvantageous in that they involve a removal of commercial customer deposits from the bank's balance sheets. This disadvantage is especially burdensome for smaller, regional or local banks.
Further, banking institutions have been able to take advantage of the interest-rate flexibility permitted by statute and regulation to address a problem of bank management that has grown in importance, namely the differential profitability of different classes of accounts. The economics of bank management are such that costs for an account are relatively fixed, and are largely independent of account balances. However, income from a given account is generally a function of the differential in the interest paid and that earned by the bank in subsequent re-investments of account funds. In particular, accounts with significant account balances are substantially more profitable, in comparison with accounts that have lower balances.
For example, prior art certificates of deposit or CDs are issued by banks to provide an insured interest bearing investment that preserves the invested capital. Typically, CDs are a commitment by the depositor for a select period of time, e.g., 6 months, or 2 years, etc. where the deposits remain without any access by the investor for alternate uses. To create incentives for investing larger amounts of capital, many banks use their interest-rate flexibility to vary the interest rate paid on CDs in two dimensions. Along a first dimension, CDs pay a rate that will vary depending how long the funds are committed. Longer commitment periods are rewarded with a corresponding higher rate of return. Along a second dimension, many banks permit investors to gain a greater interest rate when the investor commits an increasing amount to the CD. These variations are very attractive to investors, but are linked to the severe handicap suffered by all CDs, in that any alternate use of the funds or penalty-free early withdrawal is essentially foreclosed.
Therefore, what is needed are systems and methods for providing insured, interest-bearing accounts at broker/dealers, savings institutions, credit unions, and the like with interest rates that can be flexibly assigned with an unlimited number of fund transfers per month, and with insurance that may exceed $100,000. It would be especially advantageous if these systems could be readily integrated into the existing infrastructure of a broker/dealer, savings institution, or credit union and in a manner that would minimally disrupt existing relationships between clients and their broker/dealers, savings institutions, credit unions and other financial entities.
Citation or identification of any reference in this Section or any section of this application shall not be construed that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention.